Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra review

I haven't used the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra. This review is built on Samsung's US spec page and the one published test I could read in full, Expert Reviews' from September 30, 2026. The 7.9 is my opinion of the two.

The money first. As of November 1, 2026, Samsung's US cart shows $1,399.99Not verifiedNot verified for the base configuration, with no sale.

What it is

It's Samsung's flagship tablet, and a big one. The screen is 14.6 inches, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, up to 120 Hz. Samsung puts the body at 5.1 mm thick and 1.52 lb.

This year Samsung made only two models: this one and the Tab S12+, which has a 12.6-inch screen and a 10,600 mAh battery. There's no plain Tab S12. Samsung Malaysia lists the Ultra on sale from October 7, 2026.

Inside is a MediaTek Dimensity 9500, with 12 GB or 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB of storage. Samsung's page doesn't say which RAM goes with which storage tier, so check that in the configurator before you pay for the bigger one.

The S Pen comes in the box. Good. Charging extra for the pen at this price would have annoyed me.

The battery: good, just not 23 hours

Samsung claims up to 23 hours of video. Expert Reviews ran its local video test and got 19 hrs 44 mins.

That's more than 3 hours short of the claim, and I'd plan around the measured number. It's still a strong result. Expert Reviews says it beats the Tab S11 Ultra by more than 2.5 hours, which is the one upgrade here I'd notice every day.

Charging is slower. The battery is 11,600 mAh and charges at 45 W, and Expert Reviews estimates about 95 minutes from empty to full. That's an estimate, not a timed test. Plug it in overnight, not 20 minutes before you leave.

The screen

Expert Reviews measured HDR peaks of 1,700 cd/m². Samsung claims 1,600 nits, so the tablet beat its own spec there. Nice to see a maker undersell for once.

Color is less impressive on paper. Expert Reviews measured about 89% of DCI-P3 in Vivid mode. For films and drawing, fine. If you grade color for a living, I'd want a second test first.

Speed

Expert Reviews' Geekbench 6 runs show the CPU up 23% in single-core and 21% in multi-core over the Tab S11 Ultra. The GPU gained only 9%.

So apps and multitasking get a real bump. Games, much less. If you were waiting for a big graphics jump, this isn't it.

Should you upgrade from a Tab S11 Ultra?

I wouldn't. You'd be paying $1,399.99Not verifiedNot verified for roughly 2.5 extra hours of video, a faster CPU and a 9% GPU gain. Those are fine numbers. They aren't worth replacing a tablet that's one generation old.

From something older, or from no tablet at all, the case gets much better. A 14.6-inch OLED screen, the pen included, and nearly 20 hours of measured video is a lot of tablet.

Ultra or S12+?

The size gap is real: 14.6 inches against 12.6. I'd pay for the Ultra if you draw, take handwritten notes or run two apps side by side for hours. A screen that big is the whole point.

For watching video on the sofa, I'd save the money and get the S12+. Its 10,600 mAh battery hasn't been measured against the Ultra's 19 hrs 44 mins in anything I've read.

One lab is one lab

Every measured number here is Expert Reviews'. Treat the battery and brightness results as a single data point. Samsung's US page lists One UI 9 without naming the Android version.